Henry Ford is using 13 LightStrike robots across its health system, and HonorHealth is using 12 robots in its hospitals.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAI) caused by pathogens such as Clostridium difficile (C.diff), methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are a global problem and predicted to become worse as antibiotic resistance increases. Xenex says its LightStrike pulsed xenon ultraviolet (UV) room disinfection technology is a proven solution that destroys deadly microorganisms so they do not infect patients and healthcare workers. Xenex is said to be the only UV technology that has been shown, in multiple peer-reviewed published outcome studies, to help hospitals reduce infection rates.

Henry Ford is using 13 LightStrike robots across its health system, and HonorHealth is using 12 robots in its hospitals.

According to the company, studies show that less than half of the surfaces in a room are disinfected properly between patients. Xenex robots help hospitals reduce the risk of infection by destroying the microscopic germs that may be missed during the manual cleaning process.

Xenex’s germ-fighting robots reportedly take room decontamination to the next level with LightStrike pulsed xenon technology, which uses xenon gas, an environmentally friendly element, to create Full Spectrum, high-intensity UV light that quickly destroys infectious germs. The robots destroy C.diff spores, MRSA and other microorganisms in less than five minutes, says the company.

Hospitals using Xenex devices have published outcome studies in peer-reviewed journals showing 50-100 percent decreases in C.diff, MRSA and surgical site infection rates when those hospitals used the Xenex robots to disinfect rooms.

Operated by hospital cleaning staff, Xenex germ-fighting robots are designed for speed, effectiveness and ease of use. With a four- or five-minute disinfection cycle (depending on robot model), a robot can disinfect 30-62 hospital rooms per day (according to Xenex customers), including patient rooms, operating rooms, equipment rooms, emergency rooms, intensive-care units and public areas.

According to the company, more than 400 hospitals, Veterans Affairs, Department of Defense, skilled nursing, ambulatory surgery centers and long-term acute care facilities in the USA, Africa, Canada, Europe and Japan use Xenex robots for room disinfection.